Pokémon: Heroes of Time!
by Violinboy
Summary: Dice Sycamore is a new trainer in the Johto region. However, when he and his companions are caught in a chain of sinister events, they are thrown into an adventure greater than any they could ever imagine.
1. Chapter 1

Pokémon: Heroes of Time!

Chapter One

_In his dream he is watching something happen. He instinctively understands that it is important, without even being told the context of the events. The significance of the sparse landscape and barren décor is obvious, the destruction apparent, but he sees no apparent motive or catalyst for any of it._

_Two people, whom he instinctively recognises as his parents are seated opposite a woman. A chessboard with delicate glass pieces set against polished alabaster, the game still unstarted, sits between them. Neither party appears to be taking interest in the game. Betrayal is written across his father's face, despair and perhaps anguish across his mother's._

_Their opponent, a woman, is impassive, alabaster pieces reflecting a granite face, flint eyes seeing the shattered diamonds of trust and hope scatter across the floors of infinity. She begins to move her pieces, and so do his parents, but the play follows no recognisable strategy._

_Queens India openings are all he sees before an inhuman speed of play sweeps all grasp of tactics away from him. Only the tides of battle are visible to him, attack and counterattack, retreat and surrender. There is sacrifice too, but only by the woman. His parents do not appear to be playing with an endgame in mind, any overriding urge to win, but more to save what pieces they have and buy themselves more time to play._

_The woman does not care for time, and he doubts it is relevant to her anymore. The alabaster pieces keep swarming the board, losses replenished by the second with more cannon fodder waiting to be cut down. The glass pieces, once fallen, shatter and do not rise. He is suspended somehow, removed or encased, ensnared and entrapped; independent of time, and its vastness is terrifying to him._

_Ignorant of his fear, they play, his parents saving yet more pieces, the woman pushing any advantage at any cost, neither side winning or losing. They know each other too well to lose, he thought, neither of them can outwit the other or trick them, but then he realised that he was thinking in a dream, and something about the absurdity of that notion gave him back his free will. His parents looked at him, and he saw the woman cheat, snatch their queen away without taking it. He sees their defence and their attack crumble like a broken dam before a floodwater, and in five moves, ten moves, some number of moves in this vast game, he sees them lose. His parents are rushing towards him and he tries to yell, to tell them what's happening, what the woman did, but they run towards him, delight on their faces. He sees the table, the board and the pieces vanish, the woman calmly stands up and walks away, the world behind her falling into a darkness so complete that he cannot even think clearly. His parents are gone, and he is bound in a chain of silver whilst eyes open around him. Falling rocks crush him and he calls out weakly to the eyes, but they only stare at him, mute and unhelpful. Calling out to a lightless sky in animal desperation, Dice Sycamore wakes up._

* * *

Feathers scattered around him. Somewhere along the way, the yound would-be trainer had decided that shredding his pillow and violently dispersing its contents about the room had been a good idea. On a related note, he found he had feathers in his mouth too.

Hurried footsteps thundered up the stairs and along the landing, and the door pushed open with its familiar creak. Aromas also drifted in through the opening, carrying the tempting smell of bacon and sausages on pancakes. The half open door also allowed his cousin to come sprinting in, panic in her eyes. "Dice, what's wrong? Are you ill, should I call the doctor or Professor Elm…" She tailed off. And stared. And stared and stared. "Why have you tried to swallow a Pidgey?"

Dice glared at her from his unintentional pillow munching stupor. "Whosoever decided that the addition of feathers, of any species, to a complete bedspread, should be found immediately and set before an enraged Rhydon. After that, may Arceus preside over the judgement passed and punishment meted out. Failing that, I should like to ritually disembowel him." All this was said with a completely straight face.

The importance of the matter was lost, however, upon his cousin. "Dice…" she began, "you have a feather stuck up your nostril." Dice buried his face back in the mangled pillow and emitted a low groan. "Why is it that today, a fine winters morn, is the day that I choose to begin a journey? Why did I pick today to choose my very first Pokémon? Why today, to start this wonderful adventure as a Pokémon trainer and go out and listen to weird strangers give me ambiguous pieces of advice? Because frankly Alexa, my darling cousin, today has begun not only with an interrupted and fretful nights sleep, but also with a nose filled with rancid Pidgey feathers."

Alexa started at that sentence. "You're not sleeping well again? Why didn't you say something during the night? I'm sure that one of us would have sat and had a cup of tea or something with you." She reached out a hand to rub his shoulder. "You don't need to suffer in silence, Dice."

Again, she received a glare, and an acerbic, defensive, response. "What makes you think I was suffering from anything? I could have been enjoying myself to an extreme such that you mere mortals can only imagine and simply had the misfortune to wake up due to whatever unforeseen circumstance." He paused. "Or maybe I wasn't sleeping well at all." He tailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

Alexa began to prod him. "Well, you will continue to sleep badly if you don't get a move on. Professor Elm's expecting you and the other Johto newbies by nine o'clock sharp!" Hearing this caused Dice to bound into action like a released spring. "Well then you should continue with the cooking of our morning repast whilst I enrobe and prepare to meet adventure face to face. Mentlegen. START YOUR MENGINES!"

He assumed the dramatic hero pose with one arm pointing into the distance, before running out of the room and into the bathroom to shower. Laughing, Alexa made her way down the stairs.

Dice stared at his wardrobe. It was filled with clothes, some finely tailored by the best seamstresses in Johto, others were made from the rarest of silks, whilst yet more were simple clothes more designed to fill a purpose than win beauty contests. Dice designated at least three outfits to take with him, folding them neatly then rolling them, in order to place them in his rucksack.

He then donned what he deemed acceptable adventure clothing: a pair of green three quarter length trousers and a black polo shirt, followed by a dark blue sweater. As it was the middle of winter with snow on the ground, he pulled a long blue coat that fell to his knees out of the wardrobe and admired his figure.

Out of pure ego, he started to talk to himself. "And yes Mr. Sycamore, that dashing figure in the mirror is indeed yourself and the ladies will be…"

"Laughing their pretty little heads off, no doubt, when they learn that you talk to yourself in the mirror." Tart words entered via the still open doorway, followed by his Aunt. "And I believe twirling is also frowned upon as an attribute of a perfect heterosexual male. Then again, neither of these things really bother you, do they?"

Dice grinned charmingly. "My good and kind Auntie, what sort of world would it be if they did?" He pirouetted in front of the mirror, allowing the coat to billow around his legs, before clicking his heels together and snapping a salute. "Pokémon trainer Dice Sycamore, present and correct, ma'am!"

"Not quite correct, trainer. You're forgetting your good luck charm."

"Oh, I don't need more charm, but I could definitely use some luck..." With a wink he envisioned as roguish, but was more of a squinting grimace, he exercised some more of his boundless energy in striding to the dresser and picking up a hat and a neckerchief.

After slipping the blue and orange scarf over his head and looping it around his throat, he pulled the hat onto his head. A stylised 's' and an image of a Swellow's head garnished the front of the hat. He grinned, and remarked to no one in particular, "And once more, the fabled cap of the Fortree Swellows, proud hat of the great trainer Dice Sycamore, goes adventuring."

"Only this time Dice, its not going to the bottom of the garden to watch Spinarak chase Caterpie. This time, you get to see the world as only a precious few people get to see it. First hand, and with Pokémon by your side. I'm jealous." She smiled fondly at him. "You know they're proud of you, don't you? Your parents." She breathed in heavily before continuing. "I remember the day you were born, and the looks on their faces…well, they were something." She grinned a lopsided grin.

"Your poor old dad was a state. Kept muttering to himself about how he was going to teach you to choose your Pokémon wisely, how to train them, but what he really wanted for you, more than anything else in the world, was to live your life the best way that you know how." She looked at him, proud and noble, tears forming in her eyes. "They're proud of you."

Dice looked at the floor, lost for words. Slowly, phrases clicked into place, snippets of emotion infused with words that seemed right, and then he looked his Aunt back in the eye. "They aren't proud of me just yet. Or if they are, they will have to sum up some more pride. But by the end of all my journeys, whether I'm the champion or just some lowly trainer, I'll make sure they're proud. I promise."

The words were said with such conviction that she took a step back. "You'll go far Dice. With that kind of promise, you'll not have any other choice than to rise to the challenge you set yourself. Atta boy." She wiped her eyes. "Go on then. Get breakfast. Finish packing. And go take on the world. Just be careful of naughty men with sweeties, because I know how much you like to eat and there are some plain bad people out there…"

"And I am now an adult, Aunt Valerie. The only time that has ever happened I was seven, and I was hungry. And I still maintain that he kicked himself in the balls."

* * *

Alexa personally thought that Newbark Town looked prettiest in the snow, and at the beginning of February, it still thickly coated the ground. She also reflected that it was good adventure weather, despite the inherent difficulties presented by the now snow covered terrain.

Idly flipping a pancake, she watched a few brave Rattata scamper lightly across the snow in pursuit of Mr and Mrs Next Doors winter vegetable patch. There was a brief skirmish with their pet Delcatty who deigned to investigate their thieving and sharply presented them with the ultimatum of knock off or face the pain. The Rattata chose wisely and decided richer pickings could be found elsewhere, scattering whilst the Delcatty mewled triumphantly. They fled back into the grass from whence they came with a small rustling sound, leaving the rest of the world in stillness.

Finishing her daydream, she realized that the pancake she had been flipping for the last twenty minutes was now turning browny-black rather than golden-brown and hastily deposited it on a plate with some sausages and bacon. She filled an oversized mug painted in a garish red, black and blue design with hot tea and set it down at a place on the table. "Dice!" she called up the stairs, "breakfast's ready!" In an attempt to cover up the pancake mishap, she splashed some syrup on top of his breakfast and grinned widely when he entered the kitchen. She then proceeded to lecture him on the dangers of travelling in cold weather, ambushing him with a plethora of comments when he couldn't answer back with any smart replies.

"Be careful where you pitch your tent, you don't want it to be covered in snow during the night. Don't get lost, EVER. Try and catch a fire type to melt any huge snowdrifts. Don't take sweeties from strange men-"

"For Arceus' sake, I am not a moron! I can take care of myself in the real world, without an extended life lesson on escape and evasion from pervy kidnappers." He grinned slyly. "Although it's touching to know that you actually care enough to want to see me alive, Alexa." She glared at him. "Of course I want you alive. You know as well as I do that this is the best thing that could ever happen for you."

"Strange, that, but I thought the pinnacle of my life would come somewhere after the age of fourteen. Preferably some time around eighteen, when I can drink, drive and get laid as many times and as often as I like."

"That attitude will get you slapped rather than laid, Dice. You need to work on your smooth charm some more." Alexa adopted a thoughtful expression. "For a start, find a girl. And then maybe practise some. We can build it up from there."

Dice rested his head on the table. "You could just say you're going to miss me, Alexa. Instead of grandstanding to a vacant audience about my inability to score with the ladies." He grimaced. "I thought brunettes stood higher chances of getting girls anyway. It's a grim realization, finding out that they don't." Alexa laughed, and then sighed. "I am going to miss you. But not until tomorrow, when I actually realize that you're gone. Then, I'll miss you, miss you."

When Dice Sycamore finally stepped out into the crisp morning air and felt the snow crunch under his travelling boots, he had said goodbye to the house itself, his aunt at least three times, the family Ninetales once (who had then given him a playful Ember attack to the shin), Alexa four times and played a small piece for himself on the piano, as a sort of memorial send-off. He had applied Burn Heal and shouldered his bag after shoving a few more things into it, lucky charms and useful items, and then stepped out into his adventure without looking back.

* * *

_Extract from the Diary of Professor Elm_

_It seems to me that in the Johto region, something new is always beginning; something once jaded and abandoned is brought quietly back into existence. Never mind that snow lies four feet thick on the ground at the thinnest at this time of year, but interesting events spring eternal, seemingly from nowhere, or at the very least from the thin air._

_This endless cycle of interesting revivals and constant growth lends this region something that I will very much miss when I finally depart this mortal coil. I do so hope that the many new adventures, which begin here, flourish into life with ease, and attain every ounce of their true potential. Why, it was only last month that a boy, and really just that, fourteen or fifteen years old, walked into my laboratory…_

…and brushed the snow off his shoulders. "Man, it's cold out there Professor. You should invest in some outdoor heaters, maybe even a nice glasshouse. Hell, a large bonfire would be nice, but then again you have that whole tree thing going on."

The boy smirked at a frustrated looking aide, who was trying to wrestle a highly opinionated Pidgey into some kind of machine, presumably to run some bizarre test on it. "Good look with the bird. I hope you aren't that unlucky every Saturday night." The aide began to growl, an angry retort forming on his lips, but the boy was gone by the time he could get it out.

Sensing the prospect of freedom, the Pidgey made a bid for the door, screeching its triumph into the morning air. Not long after the Pokémon had fled the confines of the laboratory, the aide crumpled to the floor, sobbing quietly.

Professor Elm began to grin as the boy passed through into the main section of the lab. Scruffy brown hair topped off a face that was covered in freckles. Cheekbones protruded from a skinny face, whilst the rest of the boy's body was thin. Elm mused that the thin frame would one day mould into an athletically slim build, but for now, the boy only moved with a certain awkward grace. Between the casual and flippant way the boy had greeted his aide and his physical appearance, it reminded the professor of something he'd seen, a long time ago, but he couldn't quite place it.

All in all, the boy was a niggling memory to the Pokémon professor, an elusive fact in his mind. Something was there, but he just couldn't see it, not now at least. Still, the boy was obviously looking to be a trainer, and he therefore had an obligation to him: to provide him with a Pokédex, pokéballs and most importantly one of the three starter Pokémon for the Johto region. Smiling, Elm stood from behind his desk and reached out to shake the boy's hand. "Dice Sycamore…I've been waiting for you to show up"

"And its wonderful to see you too Professor. And can I say that I really love what you've done with the place. It has a very art deco feel that not many places have anymore." He nodded approvingly before turning to the professor. "Your aide was having some trouble with a Pidgey back there. On a personal note, I think you should hire on someone else. He looked close to snapping, if you see what I mean." Dice twirled a finger on the side of his head.

Elm just laughed. "You mean Joel? That poor kid has the worst luck in the history of the universe. You should have seen his first day here…" The professor tailed off as the door to the lab swished open, and two girls and a boy walked in. All three appeared to be aspiring young trainers, dressed to protect against the cold, with empty pokéball holders at their waists.

One of the girls and the boy already appeared to know each other, as they were bickering amongst themselves. The other girl was glancing round furtively, but Dice put it down to excitement, or first day nerves, or some combination of both. Her blue scarf matched her eyes, whilst black hair tumbled down her back from underneath a knitted hat. She wore a long black overcoat, with a knee length blue skirt, and a faded t-shirt could be seen through the coat's opening. She smiled at him when the three got closer, but made no move to introduce herself.

The other girl, however, immediately introduced herself, a nasal voice cutting through the still air of the laboratory, whilst her lackey cringed. "And I suppose you are the person in charge here?" She demanded of Professor Elm. Her voice was imperious and loud, yet she made no effort to quiet it. "Well…aren't you going to register us as trainers so we can leave, already? I don't exactly want to wait here for very long!"

Her arrogance matched the clothes she was wearing, some sort of pirate themed ensemble, with knee high boots and breeches, and a loose fitting shirt beneath a leather jacket. Frizzy, brown hair was almost contained under a skull and crossbones print bandana. Professor Elm simply stared at her before blandly requesting her name. She flicked a hand imperiously, as though this was too much effort. "My name is Chloe Riva. Are you done now?"

"Not quite, Miss Riva. I still need to register these other three trainers." Chloe's companion stepped forward. He also sneered slightly when he spoke, and had the same nasal voice as Chloe. "My name is Alberto Riva." He jerked a thumb at Chloe. "Her brother. Now may we go, or do we have to wait for these rabble to be registered too?" Casting a contemptuous glance at Dice and the other girl, he turned and sneered at Elm again.

"I'm afraid so, Mr Riva. If you would be so kind as to remain silent whilst I register these other trainers?" He coolly ignored both Riva's objections to his statement as he turned to face the other girl. "And you are?"

"Grace Lafonte, Professor." She hesitated, and then ploughed on. "I've heard a lot about your research into Pokémon eggs and newly hatched Pokémon, and it's fascinating how much there is still to learn." She smiled at him, and he beamed back. "It's wonderful to hear my work is appreciated, Miss Lafonte!" He turned to Dice.

"Mr Sycamore…Your Aunt said that you've been looking forward to today for the better part of your entire life." Dice grinned. "She wouldn't be lying there professor. In fact, it's probably been longer than that." He saw the Riva siblings roll their eyes a small distance away. Smirking, he muttered to Elm, "Their lordships are getting impatient over there. You'd better stop stalling them before they break something to get your attention." Elm cleared his throat. "If you will follow me, please, you will now receive your starter Pokémon."

Dice was startled to hear the Riva siblings laugh out loud. Chloe sneered at him derisively. "Why would I ever want one of those pathetically weak Pokémon? My father got us both some good Pokémon." Alberto laughed along with her. Grace covered a yawn with her hand. "Really? Did Daddy dearest pay a high enough price for them, or did he catch them for you himself? Did he ever show them love, or are they just bought-and-paid-for pets?"

Despite her feigned boredom, Dice saw her other fist clench and her tone was laced with blatant sarcasm. Chloe simply glared at her. "My Pokémon is just fine, you little brat. And it's just a Pokémon. It's not as though loving it makes any difference. It's stronger than any of those pathetic starters, anyway."

Dice felt he had to speak up, after hearing her dismiss her own Pokémon as nothing more than a possession, and a worthless one at that. "If it's really that strong, then you won't mind challenging me to a battle, will you? After all, it sounds like you can't lose." His pulse was rising with the anticipation of both getting his first Pokémon and battling with it. Elm smiled at him. "And which Pokémon will you choose, Dice?" Dice grinned, and it was a shark's grin, all teeth and no humour. Checking the tag on it, he ripped a Pokéball off the plinth in front of him. "Let's take this outside, Riva."

Outside, they took opposite sides of the battleground. Alberto stood behind his sister, whilst Elm and Grace stood behind Dice. Joel acted as referee. "The match will be a one on one Pokémon battle. Each trainer will comply with the Pokémon league rules and will obey any decision the referee makes. Are we clear?" Dice nodded firmly, whilst Chloe simply yelled out. "Can we get on with this now, weakling?"

"Ladies first," Dice mocked. She flung the pokéball at her waist. "Go! Misdreavus!" A ghostly shadow emerged from the pokéball before forming into a Pokémon. Its body was formed of a flowing purple mist, and it squealed its cry into the morning air. "Miiissss…drea!"

Dice smirked and unclipped a pokéball from his waist. "Lets heat it up a little, shall we? Go! Cyndaquil!" The diminutive fire type sprang from the ball, sending up a cloud of steam as it immediately ignited the flame on its back. Dice smiled at its enthusiasm. "Nice attitude, Cyndaquil! Now, lets kick things off with an Ember attack!"

Cyndaquil set its legs firmly in the snow, before launching hot ashes from its mouth at Misdreavus. Chloe yelled out. "Misdreavus, dodge that and use your Psywave attack!" A multicoloured beam shot out of Misdreavus' necklace and towards Cyndaquil, who was struck by it and thrown backwards. "Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen to conceal yourself, and then use another Ember attack." Cyndaquil nodded. "Quil!" A thick black fog spread through the air, before a bright orange glow emanated from inside.

Misdreavus squealed as the ember attack hit it, and slid backwards into the snow. Dice shouted out in triumph. "Great job Cyndaquil! Now use Ember again!." The flames on Cyndaquil's back flared, and it shot orange flames towards the fallen Misdreavus.

"Misdreavus, get up again, now!" Chloe yelled at her Pokémon, disbelief and anger marring her face. However, Cyndaquil's attacks had burned it badly, and it sat mewling piteously on the snow. The Ember attack hit it full on, sending it sprawling through the snow before coming to rest. When the snow and smoke cleared, Misdreavus could be seen lying in the snow, swirls in its eyes.

"We did it Cyndaquil!" Dice ran over to Cyndaquil, his boots crunching on the snow. "Great work little buddy." Cyndaquil let out a small puff of satisfied smoke, before curling up into a ball in Dice's arms and promptly falling asleep. He looked up at Elm and Grace who were applauding his victory, and then over at the Riva siblings, who were stalking back into the laboratory. Elm's face fell. "I hate to think how they're going to do, adventuring around Johto." He sighed dejectedly. "I can't believe she couldn't care less about her first Pokémon either. Most trainers couldn't care more about their first Pokémon, but she just doesn't care at all." He sighed again. "But, hey, Dice," he said, his eyes lighting up. "The way you battled there, it was extraordinary! You've got some real talent."

"I thought it was brave that you stood up to her, Dice." Grace spoke up, some unknown and unspoken emotion in her eyes. "Even if you hadn't won, standing up to her was still the right thing to do."

"I know," said Dice, staring at the retreating back of his opponent. "It's why I did it."

* * *

When they returned to the lab, they found the Riva siblings waiting, sullen and uncaring. Elm produced sets of pokéballs for them to use, and handed over four of the newest Pokédexes. "These Pokédexes will allow you to identify the various species you encounter along they way, and obviously, the Pokéballs are to catch them. I also suggest you take either the Pokémon Gym or Pokémon Contest challenges. They're excellent ways to test your skills, and who knows, you might even make Champion one day!"

Chloe just stared at him. "Fine. Can we go now, because I really don't want anymore of your inspirational little speeches." Her tone was insolent, and her eyes smouldered after being defeated. Elm gave the smallest of nods. "You can leave, yes. And to be honest, Miss Riva, I'm glad to see you go." Chloe flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked out of the lab into the cold air, yelling for Alberto to follow her.

When they were gone, Elm let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's the back of them for a while." He turned to Dice. "What's your plan, Dice? I assume you're taking the gym challenge-"

"Professor, there's a man here who's looking for…" Joel stuck his head round the door and glanced at Grace. "Well, he won't take no for an answer." The professor turned to Dice. "I don't suppose you already have a travelling companion, Dice? Because I'm sure Miss Lafonte would like some company on her journey, so perhaps you could travel together." Dice noted that his genial smile was a little too forced, and his eyes kept flicking towards the entry of the lab where raised voices could be heard. "Grace, you picked out a Pokémon didn't you?" She nodded quickly. "Yes, I did thank you professor. If it's alright by you, I took Totodile?"

"Yes, that's an excellent choice! From what I've seen he and you should work well together!" The voices at the door were becoming heated and the Professor winced. Dice began to make out one or two threats. Professor Elm moved to shut the door. "Perhaps you two should make a more...discreet exit..." Dice noticed that Grace herself was beginning to look quite nervous, and reached out a hand to test a theory. Masking it as a handshake, he shook her hand briefly, only to feel the palm slick with sweat. "It's a pleasure to meet you Grace. I'd be honoured to accompany you on your journey. From what I can surmise so far, you sound like you need it." He motioned to one of the windows. "Shall we?"

Dice hopped over the windowsill and into the snow, before helping Grace out. As they made their way towards route 29, he stopped and looked at her. "Interesting how Elm was so keen for us to exit via any other route than the front door." He raised an eyebrow and blithely asked, "I don't suppose you have anything to do with that?" She narrowed her eyes threateningly. "Nothing at all. And if you were to say otherwise, me and Totodile will be having strong words with you. So you just be careful, Mister Sycamore." The comical expression of anger on her face made him laugh. "If you insist, if you insist. But I'm sure I'll be entitled to a couple of questions at some point."

They reached route 29, and looked out across the snow-covered track, the hills in the distance shrouded in mist. Grace looked at him. "Thank you," she said. At his confused look, she explained. "For letting me travel with you."

"Not a problem," he said, not making direct eye contact. "It's not like I was going to travel with those two." The tone of his voice made it clear whom he was talking about, and also his opinion of them.

He let out a deep breath. "Well, times wasting and there's not much we can do about them now. Let's get going to…" He consulted his Pokégear. "…Cherrygrove City. Nice place, there. Some good coffee shops," he mused. They started walking, first in companionable silence, before Grace spoke. "So you're from Newbark Town, right?"

Their voices drifted into the air as they made their way into an adventure which little did they know, would change their lives forever.

* * *

_On the other side of the region, hidden beneath the Whirl Islands, an abandoned underwater facility began to wake up. Power flowed through conduits that had lain unused for some time, and the central computer system came online once more. Desalinisation stations began to churn water once more, filtering it to provide for the new inhabitants._

_Dustsheets were removed and stored, everything the epitome of efficiency and ambition. Grunts rushed from station to station, hauling cables and power leads, wielding spanners, welders and soldering irons to fix damaged sections. Divers swarmed the outside of the underwater station, sounding the hull and checking for breaches._

_Slowly, with an ominous hum, the station came to life. At the eye of the storm of activity, one woman stood. With a face of stone, she reflected no emotion, hard eyes surveying all she saw. Betraying nothing, she continued to watch the installation._


	2. Chapter 2

Pokémon: Heroes of Time!

Chapter Two

"I'm not actually from Newbark Town, I moved here from Goldenrod when I was about six." Dice Sycamore was explaining how he ended up in Newbark to his travelling companion, Grace Lafonte. "We, my family, still own the house I used to live in Goldenrod. If we pass through there, we can stay the night." He turned to her. "You still okay to keep going, or do you need a break?"

She shook her head, black hair spilling over her shoulders. "No, I'm good to keep going for a while. I'd prefer to keep moving onto Cherrygrove, so we can get some training done when we get there. We could even do some when we stop for lunch, if you feel like it?"

Dice grinned. "That'd be fun. I'd like to see what else Cyndaquil can do." He turned to her. "Maybe you should let Totodile out of its pokéball for a while, just to let it have some fresh air." He pulled the pokéball from his waist too. "Cyndaquil can have a look around too!"

He threw the ball high into the air, and it split open, allowing a burst of white light to leave its meagre confines. The white light quickly took on the shape of a small blue and tan furred creature, which snorted smoke into the cold morning air. "C'mon buddy. You can ride up top, if you like?"

Dice bent down and held up his arm for Cyndaquil to jump up onto, which it obligingly did so. It then nuzzled into the side of his neck for warmth, before letting out a contented sigh and falling asleep. Grace laughed. "He's a real sleepyhead, that one." She too pulled a pokéball from her waist. "Okay, come on out, Totodile!"

A small blue crocodile like creature formed from the white light and ran around in excited circles before bumping into Grace's leg. "_Toto-toto-toto-toto-diiiiiiilllee!_" Totodile let out an elated cry as it recognised its trainer and danced up and down on the spot for several seconds.

Grace laughed again as she picked Totodile up and swung it around in an overjoyed dance. Clutching Totodile in her arms, she turned to Dice. "Come on, Slowpoke, I'll race you to the top of that hill!" She took off running up the shallow incline, with Dice tearing after her heels.

Despite her head start, Dice managed to reach the top at the same time as her, and collapsed in a breathless heap on a snow-covered tree stump, clutching at his side. "I think…that I'm going to have to improve on my physical fitness…if the whole Pokémon trainer lark…is going to contain…running of that nature." He flopped onto his back and stared at the sky. "On the flip side, the view is rather nice."

The weak morning sunlight wasn't exactly warming, but it was better than the harsh blizzards that had occurred over the winter. Snow covered copses littered the road towards Cherrygrove City, most of them home to hibernating Kakuna and Metapod. Tracks criss-crossed the snow in front of them, marking the trail of groups of Rattata and Sentret, whilst Pidgey and Pidgeotto chirped in the surrounding woodlands.

Grace began to nudge him with her foot. "You're right. You are unfit." She grinned. "However, if you keep walking, I'm sure we can start you on a diet in Cherrygrove City." Dice rolled over in excitement. "You can cook? That's FANTASTIC! Personally I burn toast, but if you can cook then we are sorte-"

"I didn't say I could cook!" She scowled at him. "I said we could find some food in Cherrygrove. Besides, I though you cooked."

Dice gave her a blank look. "Well I'm handy with a tin opener…" Grace pulled back a hand as if to slap him, and he hurriedly finished. "But I'm sure that we can extend our party into a third member who can cook and knows what to do if we get lost. And we'll definitely be able to find such a person in Cherrygrove, so no worries!"

Dice flashed her a cheesy grin, which mutated into shock as a voice sounded behind him. "Hey! You two are trainers, right?" The voice was deep, and came accompanied by a net and a wide brimmed hat. "Wanna take on my bug Pokémon in a battle?"

"See, Grace, I bet this guy can cook! All we have to do is battle him and ask nicely!"

"A bug catcher." She glared at him. "Hate to go all stereotypically female on you, but…"

"You hate bugs." Dice grimaced. "Could be a problem. Yeah, yeah, be with you, in a minute, okay?" He yelled the last part to the bug catcher, who was tapping his foot impatiently.

"I don't have all day here, midgets. There are Beedrill swarms around here just waiting to be caught, and as it's winter they'll be extra easy to catch!" Grace growled behind Dice. And then exploded. "LISTEN UP, MISTER!" The 'honorific' used was the full two syllables, not the cheap, perfunctory grace afforded customers worldwide. Two really angry syllables. Grace continued. "I am not a midget. You may not have noticed, but he is not exactly tiny either. I would like to take this opportunity, you blithering moron, to tell you I am of AVERAGE height and build for my mmmph mpph…"

"Really what she's trying to say is that she would love to battle you and would you by any chance be able to cook to any degree of proficiency?" Dice restrained Grace before she had the chance to eviscerate the bug catcher, or at the very least deafen him. Looking slightly dazed and confused, the bug catcher turned to him. "I don't cook, just boil up loads of ready meals and eat them." He pulled a face. "They taste pretty foul, too."

Grace was still struggling to continue her diatribe, bucking against Dice's restraining grip. "What's with her?"

"Nobody quite knows. All we've come to realise is it's chronic and painful." Grace had started stamping her feet and landed a lucky shot on one of Dice's toes. "And I would be much obliged if you stopped stamping your feet now, Grace. WE have a battle to engage in."

She glowered at him. "And no he can't cook." Glower turned to glare. "That's not my fault." More glaring. "Okay…battle now, yes? Then move on to the berating." He turned to the bug catcher. "What's your name anyway?"

"Charlie," said the bug catcher. "Pleased to meet you." He pulled two pokéballs from his belt. "Now lets do this."

* * *

The second potential cook came after the first potential cook (who had since turned into the first definite tag-team victory) and was not a bug catcher, but a young trainer without an official licence who promised that he really could cook. After fifteen minutes of constant pleading about how he wanted to see the world and everything in it, Dice promised him that if he could run to Newbark and back within five minutes, they'd take him on. The youngster was off like a shot, his Rattata scampering gamely behind him. Swiftly, Dice and Grace turned round and started walking very quickly in the opposite direction. "That was harsh, Dice."

"Yes, yes it was. However, do you really want to be travelling with a whiny young maladjusted trainer who will undoubtedly not be able to cook whatsoever?" Grace considered her options. After realising she had none, she replied. "No, he's probably not the best choice, is he?"

"Not the best choice?" Dice turned to her in incredulity. "He's not any kind of choice at all!"

* * *

The third potential cook fell out of a tree in front of them. The red headed girl could indeed cook it seemed, but her recipes were not to any sort of conventional taste. As appetizing as leek and pecan soup seemed after a period of eating nothing at all, they came to the simultaneous realisation that weird was not an item they desired on the menu.

"So what was your name again?" Dice felt politeness was the best way to go about leaving. The girl smiled broadly. "I'm Ori, and I'm pleased to meet you!" She looked around with a great deal of confusion in her eyes, and her brow creased. "You haven't seen a red haired boy with a Meowth named Yoru have you? I'm sort of looking for them." She indicated the tree. "It's why I was up there in the first place!"

"She seems oddly proud of that fact," Dice murmured to Grace. "I also think she's insane."

"She isn't insane, she's just very sweet. And…overbearing." Grace frowned at him. Dice frowned back. "Is this one of those spontaneous feminine bonding things, because I've heard about that happening ow yes that is my toe thank you kindly for not stepping any hard-ow ow ow…"

"Wow what's that dance you're doing there? It looks really FUN!" Mistaking the fact Dice was clutching his foot in pain after Grace stamped on it as some form of dance, the girl joined in. Five seconds later, after tripping over a protruding tree root, the enthusiastic redhead lay on the floor unconscious. Dice began to hobble away from her still form. "We shall now proceed to limp double time from the vicinity to avoid further encounters with Miss Inoue and her over enthusiastic approach to cookery and life."

"Isn't that slightly unethical?"

"Not if you think of it as self preservation."

* * *

Potential cook number four had a girlfriend. And he was very much attached to her. Between the crooning and caressing and the frequent cries at how adorable he was, they managed to gather, or rather infer, that they weren't looking for any more partners in their group. Grace looked rather relieved after they left. Dice simply looked sickened. "Too…much…sweetness…Must...pass…out…Go on without me…"

"Get up. Honestly, man up a bit Dice. How are you going to contend if you ever get yourself a girlfriend?" She arched an eyebrow. "Or is it Dice Sycamore, confirmed bachelor? Either way, I won't judge."

* * *

Potential cook number five was too hyperactive. Too perky. Too…nice. Too…blonde. That was it: she was blonde and perky and nice. Horribly so, in fact. Grace was having trouble holding her temper in check. The poor girl had obviously had her morning coffee with breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses and luncheon, and was pouring out the java to accompany her afternoon tea. Which she made herself, and did look oh so very tempting, what with scones and jam and cream adorning the picnic table in front of them. Her Pokémon too were also far too energetic: a mad Buneary that hared around in circle after circle and a Spoink that couldn't even attempt sitting still (whilst for most sitting still was an impossible task, this one couldn't even approach vertical at any reasonable velocity). She had also taken a shine to Dice.

"You're a very pretty boy, you know that? Like really, _really_, pretty." She glanced sideways at Grace, who was staring at the sky and muttering under her breath. "Are you two _together_ together, huh?" Nudge nudge, giggle giggle, mutter mutter (the last were from Grace, whose name was doing nothing for her temper).

Dice grinned uneasily. "We're just friends, travelling together, not really going anywhere…" Nudge nudge, and trailing hand on thigh. "Erm…wow that dinner looks lovely…" A light smack this time. _Far too playful_, thought Grace. "It's not dinner, silly. It's afternoon tea!" Giggle giggle. And _more stroking_!

Grace dragged her eyes away from the blatant molestation occurring not ten feet away from her and noticed an odd dust cloud forming further up the road. "Err…I hate to interrupt your little party, but there's something up there".

Giggle, giggle, and an embarrassed cough. "Really, people normally ask before they put their hands there…".

Another high-pitched giggle, and yet more awkward coughing. The dust cloud approaching acquired a soundtrack of ominous thundering.

Grace stood up and shielded her eyes against the watery sunlight, able to make out a shifting mass below the dust cloud. "Hey, lovebirds...you might want to-" Her eyes widened, and she glanced back at the delectable array of food.

The dust cloud rumbled closer. Close enough.

"Dice! Move, NOW!"

Rattata. Out of absolutely nowhere, small writhing bodies filled the path, kicking up snow and branches and leaves. With a shocked yelp, Grace grabbed for a low branch and pulled herself up out of the way as the path began to fade beneath the flow of Rattata. She breathed deeply as she looked up the path. Oh, yeah. Lots of Rattata, squirming through, swiping scones and cakes and jam and cream. A small team, like the Anthill Mob done in rodent, grabbed the cake platter and teapot and scarpered, jostling within the tidal wave of Rattata, a tsunami comprising several hundred furry bodies. And then _she_ was _clinging to him_. Like some kind of _damsel!_

Granted, Dice looked fairly flummoxed by the situation and this bizarre turn of mass groping events, but he didn't have to carry her into a tree to get her out of the way of the surge of Pokémon. Which was something Grace had never anticipated seeing.

Just the sheer sight of so many Rattata, their light purple bodies massing together presumably to take this girl's food was at the least disconcerting and at the most terrifying and would presumably haunt her dreams for several weeks. And then she had to witness that utter _limpet _cling on and give him the gaga eyes and _it made her want to vomit. _The squeaking tide flowed past her hiding spot, so thick and fast the path was simply coated in purple, but all she could focus on was the hyperactive bimbo attached to Dice's arm and shrieking her head off.

Until it was gone. The mass Rattata pack, the doomsday attack of the rodents, had passed, and with them one of the more spectacular afternoon teas the world had ever seen prepared. The blonde dropped out of the tree and wailed piteously at the loss of her cookery. Dice simply stared in disbelief at the sheer volume of water being produced by one single girl over the removal off one lot of cookery from the face of the earth.

Grace wasn't staring at either of them. She was watching the last Rattata, the one that was chewing some kind of toffee scone, but in such a manner that not only was the jaw involved, but almost every single muscle group in its body. The end result was a general turfing up of the surrounding snow as the small rodent squirmed its way through its first pilfered meal of the day.

The Pokémon was moving so much that it caught the eye of Dice, who doubled up laughing at the hilarity of the situation, and the blonde girl, who flew into a murderous rage at the loss of her food to the small creature. Picking herself up out of the snow, she grabbed a piece of broken crockery and hurled it at the Rattata, who writhed out of the way whilst picking a piece of toffee out of its teeth. Making her way towards it, hell-bent on wringing its neck, the blonde girl found herself doused with a large soaking of pure chilled water, straight from the mouth of Grace's Totodile. "Stop right there, or I will personally make sure you drown in however much water my Totodile can produce. Which I believe is actually quite a lot, if my Pokédex is to be believed." Grace held up the small electronic device.

"Now, walk away. Walk to Newbark, walk to Mount Silver, hell, even walk to Kanto for all I care." Grace walked calmly over to her and glared right into her face. "If you ever hurt a Pokémon ever again, you will experience an immediate and painful cessation of existence."

The blonde whimpered. Grace continued. "You know how I know this? Because I will beat you to death with a shovel. My shovel." She motioned to her bag. "It's in there." Leaning in close to the girl, Grace let a manic look creep onto her face. "I sleep with it at night."

Grace dropped the girl to the floor and threw her bag at her. "Just remember: shovel." In a final fit of tears, the blonde ran screaming down the path, kicking up snow behind her.

Dice wandered over. "Not that that wasn't plenty scary enough, but did you have to be quite so, y'know, dark on the threat side." He paused. "And oddly specific."

"A vague disclaimer is no man's friend." Something nudged against Grace's leg, leaving toffee smears against her shoe. She looked down at the Rattata nuzzling her laces and immediately grabbed an empty pokéball. "Totodile," she yelled. "Let's do this thing!"

"Tell me you did not just say that." Dice pleaded with her from five yards away. "Nobody says that. In the history of ever, nobody has said that and survived with their self-image intact." He nodded fervently, adding another "ever" for good measure. Grace decided that ignoring him was the way forward in this argument and addressed Totodile. "Totodile, this is a thing, trust me, and it is to be done." She pointed at the Rattata. "Make it so!"

* * *

It was something of a landmark battle, not in the least that it was the first time either of them had ever caught a Pokémon. It was generally considered by all involved, especially the Rattata, that inanimate and non-sentient objects such as bushes, rocks and trees could not be sucked into the unknown confines of a pokéball. After a hard battle where Totodile coated the surrounding area in water and invented a whole new form of topiary by using scratch on the nearby foliage, the pokéball used to capture Rattata had hit no less than seventeen objects. On the eighteenth try, Grace finally managed to hit what she was aiming at and successfully captured Rattata, and celebrated with the customary grace of a drunken Donphan by cavorting round the small clearing whilst whirling her Rattata in an improvised waltz.

"So…I take it you're happy that you finally managed to capture the poor thing, rather than just showing it the pokéball for," Dice checked his watch whilst covering a yawn with the other hand, "Oooh a good twenty minutes." Suddenly he grinned. "Not that watching you attempt to capture a bush wasn't amusing or anything."

"Fine, you try and catch something. See if you can do better." She nuzzled Rattata. "Or cuter, 'cos I bet you can't."

"You want me to catch better than the rat thing." Still smirking he began to walk up the path. "This is going to be easy. All I need is a Sentret." Grace shuddered. "I hate Sentret. They're all slinky and _weird_."

"What's wrong with them? For a good, solid Pokémon, you can't beat it." Shrugging, he continued. "'Sides, I hear many older, and undoubtedly more mature girls find Sentret to be the epitome of cute." He stopped when punched in the arm. "Hey!"

"Don't even think about picking up a girlfriend, mate. _Don't even think it_." Grace growled. "I saw that blonde back there. Older maybe, mature no. And you can forget any form of female companion for a while, unless she can cook."

"Can I include you in that, because you can't cook and you're female, so technically and by your own admission you are _persona non grata_ here."

"I am here because Professor Elm told you to help me. Live with it." Grace froze. "Oh, for Mew's sake, it's one of those slinky buggers." She rolled her eyes. "I gather you want to catch it." Dice's eyes lit up. "If only to annoy you, Gracie-poo."

"Call me that name again and I will eviscerate you with a toasting fork."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Watch how it's done." Twisting his cap back-to-front on his head, he called Cyndaquil into battle. "Cyndaquil, use Ember on that Sentret!"

"_Quiiillll!"_

Immediately, the Sentret froze and curled into a tight ball. Dice laughed. "And BOOM it's already over. Pokéball, GO!" The red and white ball sucked the curled Pokémon inside it and fell to the snow. As the light blinked on the front, it rocked gently from side to side, finally lying still on the icy ground. "And yes Grace, that is how we do it where I come from."

Striking a victory pose, he slipped on the snow covered ground and fell in a crumpled heap on the floor. Staggering to his feet, he saw Grace taking a picture and showing it to her Pokémon. "You see, Totodile, Rattata, that's how he does it. Remember, this is the correct technique fo-" She looked up, innocence plastered across her face. "I'm sorry, I thought I should take notes."

"Delete it. Now. And we shall never speak of this again." Twisting his body from side to side, Dice grimaced. "I think I have snow in my boxers. Mew, but that is uncomfortable." He looked up and grinned, the late afternoon sun bathing his face in a soft glow. "You want a picture of anything, take a picture of that." Grace turned to see what he was looking at, and gasped in amazement.

* * *

Cherrygrove city was silhouetted in the sun, the buildings pale shadows against the blue sky. "And it only took the better part of a day too." Dice nodded thoughtfully. "We each caught our first Pokémon, we each got a bit of experience _vis-à-vis_ this big wide world, I discovered you hate blondes, you discovered blondes like me."

"No cook though." Grace looked at him. "Got your tin-opener?"

"Yup. But Pokémon Centres will always provide food for any hungry, greedy or obese trainer so long as he or she still has his licence." He raised a hand towards the city. "Which we do. Onwards, my good companion-wallah!"

"Who says that? Really…"

"Nobody but me says that. 'Cos I are special, mm?"

"You're certainly something, I'll give you that. Stupid maybe." Grace settled on a smug smile as they entered Cherrygrove City. Muttering, Dice responded. "I still managed to catch my Sentret faster than you caught your Rattata." The smile faded.

"That was a fluke. All the way, that was a fluke."

"It was animal magnetism. Pokémon love me." Dice raised his arms to the sky. "All further confirmation of exactly how awesome I am, right? Never a bad thing."

"Wrong. Confirmation that the only women you could possibly ever score will not be of the human variety."

"Geez, Louise, for a fifteen year old girl, you sure do have some cynical issues to work out."

Grace scowled. "Maybe more than I want to tell you, Pokémon-whisperer. So lets lay off the personals until we can comfortably call each other friends, okay?" She glared at him as they passed into the outskirts of the city, walking past fountains and outdoor battle courts. Street lights flickered on as the sun began to set and curtains were drawn across windows in the apartments of the city blocks. Small groups of people dressed up for a night on the town started to wander in the streets, frequenting bars and pubs and restaurants and bistros. Through it all, people were talking and laughing, joking about their day's experiences and chatting amiably over drinks.

Grace looked at each of the groups as they passed them, the air heavy with silence after her last comment. Dice pulled a map out of his pocket, and flicked it over the section on Cherrygrove. "Map says we should hang a left after this bar, which might I add looks mightily inviting," he paused after another glare from Grace. "But we aren't in any hurry to get smashed today, so after turning left it should be only a few minutes to the Pokémon Centre, where we can get a room and some food for the night." He smiled uneasily at her. "Unless you want to get some drinks and talk about whatever's eating you from the inside out?"

"Look, Dice, on the basis that I've known you for a day, and we've kinda been thrown together by chance…I'm not sure I really want to get into anything personal with you." She shrugged. "Besides, it isn't that important. Might get a little more pressing if we head towards Olivine, but we can deal with that when we get there. If we get there." She looked at him. "There are any number of Gyms we could visit, I didn't know if Olivine was on your route."

"What makes you think I have a route?" Dice took on a hurt tone. "I could be one of those spontaneous people who never plans anything." Raising his eyebrows, he continued. "However, seeing as I quite like that city, yes I was planning on heading over there."

"So you do have a plan! You're a planner, I knew it." She giggled. "Nothing spontaneous about you."

"I can be spontaneous. I could go and get spontaneously drunk, if you like?"

"I'd really rather you didn't. Anyway, we're here now." Grace pointed ahead of them, to the Pokémon Centre standing twenty yards down the road. The large orange P on the roof illuminated the park opposite it, reflecting off leaves and lacquered benches. Bright light spilled out from the inside, as well as some low, pleasant music. "Let's go see if there's room left."

Inside, a Nurse Joy stood behind the desk scribbling a hasty note on a piece of paper. She looked up as Dice and Grace approached the desk and flashed a brief smile. "How can I help you two tonight? Do you need a room to stay the night?"

"I was hoping we could stay for a few days and maybe do some training on Route 29." Dice gave her his best charming grin. "Would that be okay?"

Nurse Joy beamed back at him. "Of course, sir! If you could just hand me your trainer card please?"

Dice pulled the request item out of an inside pocket and handed it over. "I don't suppose it would be alright if you checked our Pokémon over while we get something to eat, would it?" Grace decided to chip in with her two cents. "We've been travelling since this morning. We just received our starting Pokémon from Professor Elm, and we each caught a Pokémon on Route 29."

"Congratulations!" Nurse Joy beamed at them. "I'm sure you'll both make excellent trainers! Be sure to look after your Pokémon well, and I'm sure they'll take good care of you too." She handed two maps over the counter. "If you're looking for something to eat, I can recommend the noodle house around the corner, Dojo. It's very reasonably priced too." She smiled again as she placed their Pokéballs into a complex looking machine. Dice turned to Grace. "Come on, let's go eat. I'm starving." He looked back over his shoulder as they were leaving. "Thanks for the help Nurse Joy!"

The air outside the centre was much colder now, as the sun began to set, still with people crowding onto the pavements in search of a night's entertainment. Snatches of popular songs floated out of buildings and clubs, mingling with snippets of conversation from people surrounding them. Dojo, the noodle restaurant, was easy enough to find and was still empty enough to allow them a private booth in a secluded corner away from a rowdy group of people and their pair of Loudred. They placed their orders and sat back into their seats, neither looking right at the other. Dice spoke first.

"I'm curious." He picked up a paper napkin and began folding it. "I'm curious," he repeated. Grace stared at him. "About what? The current geo-political climate? Why toast always lands butter side down? Why Glameow always land on their feet? What would happen if you strapped buttered toast to the back of a Glameow and dropped it?"

"Surprisingly, none of those things, although the toast-Glameow experiment has preyed on my mind for some time now." He paused halfway through folding his napkin. "No, I'm curious as to why you jump out of windows instead of the door, why your parents didn't see you off at Elm's lab, why a young lady such as yourself hasn't got a travel partner and exactly what emotional baggage you happen to be toting around with you."

More folding, followed by more pausing. "All of those. And you aren't exactly making it easy for me to figure it out."

"Maybe because it's none of your business, Sycamore!" Dice snorted. "Oooh…scary. The dreaded second name. And it is my business, because you're travelling with me." Still folding. "And I'd rather like to know who is that bothered about you that they'd show up at Professor Elm's and force you to exit the building out of a window."

He inverted some of the creases on the paper, taking it from two to three dimensions. Almost unconcernedly, he added: "What are you running from?" Grace turned red with rage and gripped the table edge hard. "For your information, what my problems are is still none of your business. So when I tell you that in future, respect it and talk about something else." Her voice was cold and unforgiving. Dice noted the tiny gleam at the corners of her eyes and the tremor in her voice, as well as the white knuckle grip her hands had on the table. Calmly, he looked her back in the eye, before speaking. "I'll let it go for tonight. First sign this is going to bite me in my perfectly formed behind though, I expect answers. You understand?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Without even waiting for an answer he continued. "So, the current geo-political climate…it's interesting, yeah, but only on a similar level to algal growth. If you want something really interesting, I'd say Ultimate Cage Cricket is where it's at…" A few minutes later, the previous conversation was now only a shadow at the back of their minds as they turned their thoughts to other matters. However, Dice knew that this _was_ going to come back and bite him before too long. _Probably sooner rather than later too. Eh, laissez les bontemps rouler, n'est pas?_

* * *

_The Whirl Islands facility hummed in the deep ocean waters. Shoals of Remoraid and Chinchou swam hurriedly past, dodging the odd mechanical protrusions that surrounded the crablike base. Inside, bright lights reflected off gleaming surfaces and lab benches, as teams of grunts and scientists marched towards some kind of general assembly hall. As they sat down, the lights dimmed slightly, allowing the assembled people to see a screen with a detailed map of the Johto region on it. Five markers, each numbered, were scattered across the map._

_As they stared at the screen, one of the doors to the hall slid open, admitting a hard faced woman. An executive stood near the screen and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Commander on deck! Atten-shun!" The woman gave him a cursory nod as she made her way to the screen. She turned and looked around the room. "Good afternoon. As you may or may not know by now, my name is Commander Neptune." She raised her hands. "And today marks the first day of Team Galactic's exploits in the Johto region!" A cheer ran through the room. She let it build for a minute, before silencing them. "Quiet. Now, let us begin."_


	3. Chapter 3

Heroes of Time: Chapter Three

The once thing Dice Sycamore regretted about the night before was the distinct lack of spontaneous drunken revelry. He appreciated that he was in fact under the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages in a licensed bar, but there was still some regret that he had not managed to finish up that night dancing on a table.

Instead, they had dined at Dojo, the nice restaurant just around the corner from the Pokémon Centre, talking about trivial things like the geo-political situation and little-known sports. These topics were reviewed and cast aside fairly quickly leaving them with not much to talk about, and on leaving the restaurant, Grace had insisted on returning to the Pokémon Centre early to catch up on her sleep.

This left Dice at something of a loose end, and without his Pokémon, all on his own. It could be said that he was feeling lonely, but truth was he had squashed that feeling down to the back of his head and dredged up the conversation from the night before, specifically the interesting and heavy part of it right before the noodles arrived.

Kicking about the idea of Grace being some kind of runaway or thief, being tracked down by (probably rich) parents, or in the case of her being a thief, owners of valuable properties that were illegally remanded in Grace's custody, he wandered down the streets, moving past the ever present crowds of people.

Part of him idly wondered about who had been at Elm's lab the day before, what they looked like and how persistent they were likely to be. _Persistence could be troublesome_, he decided, _especially if it's going to interfere with this whole travelling thing. _

He continued on down the street, musing on the various and sundry potential issues that could crop up travelling with Grace. _She mentioned about Olivine City being a problem. I suppose that she could have some kind of personal tie with there, but she hasn't exactly been forthcoming on her personal details._ Dice sighed, trying to think clearly about his unexpected companion. He remembered she was well dressed, with clothes that were both appropriate for a Pokémon journey and stylish, suggesting that wherever, or however, she started out; no small amount of money was involved.

The same memory of watching her walk into the lab reminded him of those other two trainers, the girl with the pirate fixation and the boy who looked like he hadn't been burdened with an overabundance of schooling. _The Riva siblings. They didn't seem nice. However, they sounded like they had a rich background. Maybe Grace is trying to get away from something similar._ He grimaced. _Then again, my childhood was hardly impoverished. Maybe there's something other than money involved in growing up to be a complete pillock._

Pulling his Pokégear out of his pocket, Dice glanced at the time. It was only about eight in the evening, so the streets were filled with people heading out to bars and restaurants, office workers who were looking for a release, teachers trying to escape marking and schoolyard worries. Ahead, some street performers were doing tricks, juggling flaming torches and fire eating, whilst a Magmar and a Golduck provided fire and water when necessary. Again, his thoughts began to drift, mesmerised by the swirling torches and spouting flames, and he began to think about what he was expecting to gain from this journey.

He didn't know if he wanted to become a Pokémon Master, just that Pokémon featured in it somewhere and travelling with them was a good way to see the world. He hadn't wanted to pick up a stray person, even if she was turning out to be pleasant company, but something wasn't right with her situation and he just didn't want to get caught in the middle of that. _Still_, he mused, _any company's good company, at least for now._

The crowd surrounding the performers began to disperse and he realised the show was just about over. Dice slouched away down a side street, moodily shoving his hands into his pockets, trying to shove all thoughts out of his mind and find somewhere to get a coffee and think about nothing in particular. _Wouldn't mind some decent music too. Maybe some jazz, something that'll just wash over me. Bit of Miles Davis would be decent._ His first memory of jazz music brought a smile to his face. The smooth texture of the music had seemed to caress his soul and sooth his nerves, and had become a regular fixture of his life, especially when he was stressed or trying to think.

Still traipsing through backstreets, he eventually found a place that was open and playing live music. He made his way inside, where leather upholstered armchairs surrounded low tables. The lights were low, and it took his eyes a while to adjust to the gloom. As they did, he saw that the place was mostly devoid of patrons, with only a few scattered amongst the tables. Those present seemed to be the type to take their meals in the form of liquid alcohol, and weren't concerned with anything outside the glass they were holding.

Making his way quietly through the room, Dice found a seat in the corner of the room and draped his overcoat on the back, sinking in the armchair and relaxing for the first time in what felt like a long time. A waiter came over to present him with a menu, but Dice waved him off, just asking for a black coffee. With a small bow, the waiter acquiesced, returning a few minutes later with a steaming mug of hot coffee. Dice thanked him, and scanned the room, taking note of the stage at one end, set up with a grand piano, double bass and drum kit on it. _Standard jazz trio. Excellent._ Smiling faintly in anticipation of the music, the boy took a sip of coffee, resting back in the armchair.

When the club, the Cinnamon Club or something like that, finally began to fill up, Dice was on his third coffee and fiddling with his Pokégear. His cap lay on the table next to his coffee mug, which was currently half empty and being drained fast. Looking up, he watched two men and a woman walk onto the stage. The woman sat down behind the drums while one guy made his way over to the piano and the other picked up the double bass. The pianist, a young looking man with blonde hair clicked his fingers a few times for a tempo, and the others swung into it, the drummer just brushing the drums into a cool, relaxed rhythm and the bassist playing a gentle bluesy riff.

Most of the club just carried on talking, murmuring amongst themselves about their day's trivialities, but a few sat up a bit straighter and began to watch the band. It was only when the piano started up that Dice recognised the tune and smiled faintly again. _All Blues. And I wanted some Miles Davis too._ He leaned back away from the table and closed his eyes, relaxing into the music. As the trio progressed through their set, he just let his mind go blank; releasing the days thoughts in one go. When the musicians, who were really very good he supposed, swung from the blues into an upbeat Latin number he found himself sleepily nodding along to the music, taking in all the dissonance and harmony. He didn't particularly notice as patrons got up and left or sat down near to him, nor did he realise that his coffee was refilled from time to time.

Sometime later, the band finished their first set after playing a fast tempo swing tune he vaguely recognised and made their way over to the bar for drinks. Dice decided to make his way over and maybe eavesdrop on the conversation a little bit. He got there just as the bassist, a tall guy with spiked up brown hair drained his first shot of Whiscashy and ordered another. Laughing, he turned to the pianist, who was nursing a bottle of Black Persian beer, and started talking about their next few jobs. "Hey, Dan, this is a good gig. You should see if they want a permanent act and then we wouldn't be traipsing all over Johto finding work."

The pianist, Dan, grinned a bit, before necking the contents of his beer. "I already did. They said they already had some group lined up, due to start at the beginning of March." He shrugged. "They're called 'The Swing Things'."

"You're trying to tell me that we were beaten to one of the best opportunities in jazz music ever by a group called The Swing Things?" The drummer spoke up, an attractive woman probably in her late twenties. "That's embarrassing. Truly it is."

She drank what looked like a Pechatini, and was mournfully swirling the eponymous slice of berry around the drink with a cocktail stick. "Still, we've got a few good jobs lined up, including the Dance Hall in Ecruteak and that really high paying one somewhere in Olivine…" She chuckled. "Handy that your Machop evolves just as we're told that someone wants us to play on the opposite side of the region. Otherwise, I'd never be able to carry my drums on and off the train." Dice frowned at hearing this. _Olivine seems to be popular all of a sudden. Might even run into these three again, which could be fun. Could even be a good idea to introduce myself…_

Meanwhile, the three musicians were talking about the best place to stay in Ecruteak, a place that Dice was relatively unfamiliar with. Catching the bartender's eye he motioned to his mug, to which the bartender added and began refilling another one. Hopping up onto one of the barstools, Dice gave a friendly nod to the bassist, who was sitting next to him. "Hey. Nice set you just played." Dice congratulated them. The pianist laughed. "Thanks," he grinned before taking another swig of Black Persian. "We get requests, too."

The other two players smirked at the in-joke. Dice gave a good-natured grin too, recognising the reference. "Funny, Oscar." The drummer gave him a sideways look before taking a sip of her Pechatini. "You've actually heard of the album? Most people just name a tune they want playing and wander off thinking they're something special."

"No, I get the reference. 'We Get Requests', by the Oscar Peterson Trio, right?" When the bassist nodded, Dice continued. "My aunt bought it for a birthday a while ago. It's a good album." His coffee arrived and he took a sip, wincing as it scalded his tongue slightly. Turning back to them, he smirked. "If you know how to play it though, could you do 'Feels So Good' by Chuck Mangione?"

His request fell on seemingly deaf ears as he saw two of the trio engaged in deep conversation. "Do we need a roadie? Other than your Machoke, I mean." The bassist was speaking in lowered but still audible tones to the Dan, the pianist. "Because I _like_ this kid."

"Geth, we don't get paid enough to hire on a roadie, hence why I caught that Machop," said Dan, but he looked wistful all the same. Turning back to Dice, he spoke thoughtfully. "Yeah, we can do that tune. So long as Elena manages to keep the beat after…how many Pechatinis is that now?"

"That would be three." The bartender slid another one across the bar. "Soon to be four if you'll give me a minute to enjoy my particular brand of poison in peace." Elena picked the glass up by its elegant stem and swirled the Pecha berry again before downing the glass. She flicked some blonde hair out of her face and pulled her drumsticks out of her pocket. "Shall we gentlemen?"

"Stomach like iron, that woman. Still don't know how she does it." Dan stared after her as she sashayed up to the stage. "We'd better go before she starts heckling us." That was Geth, who clapped Dice on the shoulder before finishing his whisky. "Feels So Good, coming right up."

Dice made his way back to his seat, grinning a little as they struck up the tune.

* * *

After they'd finished, some seven minutes later, he grabbed his coat and hat and made his way up to the stage. "Hey, Dan, when are you going to be in Ecruteak? I'm heading that way at some point."

"Sometime towards the end of April. Maybe see you there…?" He let the question hand and Dice remembered he hadn't introduced himself. "Dice Sycamore. And yeah, I'll see if I can make it by then. You'll be playing at the Dance Hall, I presume?"

"Yeah, its pretty much the only venue there." Dan laughed. "See you around then!"

* * *

At some point towards one in the morning he found himself back in the Pokémon Centre, climbing the stairs towards his and Grace's room. She was already asleep, black hair splayed across the pillow and fingers clutching the quilt. Her clothes were neatly folded on top of her rucksack, and her coat was hung up on the back of the door. _She's neat, too. Not usually a habit of rich kids._

It was a fairly cynical and stereotypical thought, until he remembered his room at home and smiled wryly. Usually the room was pretty tidy, but the desk and bookshelves were a mess with papers and miscellaneous tomes strewn everywhere there was a flat surface, and often precariously balanced in large towers.

Noting this information as useful, Dice disrobed and made his way to his bed, clicking off the light in the process. Five minutes later, he discovered he was wired from caffeine.

* * *

The next morning, Grace awoke to find Dice sitting at the desk next to the window, cold winter sunlight filtering through the window. He was scribbling in a notebook, whilst nodding his head absentmindedly to some music playing from an iPod. He looked up when he saw her moving, and inclined his head in greeting. He flipped the notebook closed and stretched a piece of elastic around it to hold it shut. Standing, Grace wrapped the quilt around her in a kind of cloak arrangement and rubbed her sleep filled eyes.

"What are you writing?" she asked Dice, but received no answer. Reaching out to flick his shoulder, he tugged one of his earphones out and raised his eyebrows. And upbeat jig filtered out of the headphone, complete with flute and guitar. "Did you say something? My music's on pretty loud, sorry," said Dice, with an apologetic look on his face. Grace stated her query again. "What are you writing?"

"Nothing in particular. And no it's not a diary, so you can forget stealing it and using it for blackmail." Dice frowned. "Anyway, did you sleep well? By the time I got back, you were well gone."

"Yeah, I slept fine. I checked up on Totodile and Rattata before heading to bed, and asked Nurse Joy about your two." She broke off, yawning. "They're all fine, just tired. Nurse Joy made sure they were fed and got plenty of sleep." Grace fixed him with a penetrating stare. "What about you? How much sleep did you get?"

"There would be a certain and distinct lack of sleep in my life at the minute, not in the least due to copious ingestion of caffeinated substances last night." It was Dice's turn to yawn. "In other words, I was out until one o'clock last night drinking coffee and haven't slept."

"What time is it now?" asked Grace, making her way over to her bag and fumbling around for her Pokégear. Dice checked his, which was attached to his wrist. "Just before eight. Wanna get some breakfast?"

"You shouldn't have drank coffee at whatever time last night. Most people drink that to get out of bed in the morning."

"But it was finest roasted Orange Island coffee. That's the _really, really good_ type of coffee." He grinned, letting the last of the caffeine show through in an infectious smile. "Besides, I found a reason to go to both Ecruteak and Olivine." He stood up, sliding the notebook into a pocket on his green three-quarter length trousers. "Come on. Get dressed and we'll go to breakfast."

"Olivine. Great. Fan-tabulous. Just where I don't want to be." Grace scowled, picking up her clothes and heading into the small bathroom. "I'll meet you in the foyer," she called over her shoulder, before shutting the door. Dice began to yell after her, "What's wrong with Olivine then?", but received a slammed door and hair ruffling breeze for his trouble. Pulling his hat further down onto his head he wandered downstairs, whistling.

Fifteen minutes later, Dice had checked out Sentret and Cyndaquil and was letting them play with each other while he waited for Grace. In what was becoming an obsessive habit, he pulled his Pokégear off his wrist and began to fiddle with the settings and functions. Looking up, he saw a vending machine with an offer displayed in huge letters across the front. Smelling the benefits of a capitalist economy, he ambled over to see what it was.

"Free Johto map card, offer lasts for a limited time only…sweet!" Feeling two small bodies grab onto his legs and then waist, he laughed as Cyndaquil and Sentret scrambled up his lanky frame and took a perch on opposite shoulders. Dice made his way across the foyer and inserted his Pokégear into the vending machine, selecting the option for the map card. Five seconds of whirring later, his Pokégear was ejected, the screen displaying a new icon for the map. Selecting it, a terrain map of Johto showing Mt. Silver in the east and Cianwood City in the west filled the screen. A few seconds later a small arrow icon appeared over Cherrygrove indicating his current location.

"Sweet," muttered Dice for the second time, before turning around. Looking up he saw Grace requesting her Pokémon from Nurse Joy, smiling as she clipped the Pokéballs to her waist. Dice rolled his eyes. "Finally. Could have waited for the next ice age before you finally got down here. That said, it's still pretty chilly out." Dice looked out of the Pokémon centre windows to see the snow covered streets and shrugged. "Eh. Anyway, shall we?"

"Yes please, I'm starving." Grace pulled a face before jogging to catch Dice who was already walking out of the Centre. "You don't really do the whole waiting for people thing do you?" Dice looked at her askance. "Who, me? Considering I didn't particularly plan for a travelling partner, and the fact that I didn't exactly spend lots of time with people my age in Newbark, then no: I wouldn't say I am a 'waiting for people' kind of person."

He paused, cocking his head to the side. "Unless they're interesting, in one way or another. Then I'll consider waiting for them." He motioned to a waffle house just at the mouth of a side street. "I looked at the menu for that café last night while I was wandering back." He stretched his arms above his head, yawning as he did so. "They look like they do some good waffles." Waving an arm vaguely towards the door he executed a short bow. "After you."

Breakfast didn't involve much chatter as the two trainers focussed on their food and whatever hot brown liquid was in their mug. Twenty minutes of waffle-y goodness later, Grace was just about waking up properly and Dice was getting down off his caffeine high by drinking another cup of coffee.

He was just about to reach for the sugar bowl to sweeten the cup of sludge that could have at one point been filter coffee but had an equal probability of being derived from mud when a beam of orange energy flickered past the window and impacted into a street vendor's cart, causing the cart to burst into flame. Several pedestrians immediately began screaming, among them the distraught owner of the cart.

Grace looked across at Dice, who was frantically shovelling waffle into his mouth whilst simultaneously pulling on his coat with his other hand. Upon seeing her raised eyebrows at his apparent gluttony, he spoke around a mouthful of his breakfast. "Wha'? S'goo' whmffle. 'Nd we'e pai' fri't 'oo." He swallowed and washed down the waffle with the rest of the coffee. "Now, let's go see what all that's about."

"You want to run towards the explosion? Why in the name of Arceus is that a good idea?" Grace grabbed the sleeve of his long blue coat, preventing him from dashing out towards the commotion. Dice turned at grinned cockily. "Because the explosion is interesting. Remember our earlier conversation of five minutes ago? I _like_ interesting." He paused as if in thought. "It's the only reason you're still here, I suppose. Now, let's go!"

* * *

The two trainers sprinted out into the street and raced towards the shattered cart, pushing fleeing people out of the way as they did so. Both of them experienced a brief but glorious breeze that stirred up some of the snow lying around their feet before a huge Pokémon flapped its wings and knocked both of them into the middle of the snow covered road.

Stumbling to her feet, Grace caught a glimpse of a large blue body with red horns and wings, which soared into the air and hovered there, staring balefully at the humans below. Grace pulled out her Pokédex and trained the scanner on the Pokémon, allowing the sophisticated encyclopaedia to analyse the creature. The light flashed a few times before the device spoke. _"Salamence, the dragon Pokémon. As a result of a powerful desire to fly, Salamence were able to trigger the cells in their body and cause them to grow wings."_

Grace flicked through the data in the entry, lingering on the location page for a while. "Hoenn…that's nowhere near here…" She frowned, before turning to Dice who was engaged in a staring match with the Salamence. "Grace…there's no way we can take on that Salamence and win, not with our current Pokémon." Dice looked around, taking in the sight of people in the street either shocked into stillness or moving quietly but quickly away from the area. "Nobody here looks like they want to tangle with that thing either."

The Salamence roared and angled its wings down, dropping like a stone towards the street. Streaks of white light trailed from its head and wings, causing Dice's heart to drop into his stomach. "That's an aerial ace isn't it." It was more of a statement than a question. Grace swallowed nervously. "Yes, I would say it is." Her voice rose with panic. "Run?" she queried tersely. Dice nodded. "Yeah…. run."

There were only a few seconds of running, sneakers and trainers sliding on the snow, before the aerial ace caught up with them. Dice was flung forward, sliding along the snowy ground, whereas Grace was tossed into the air before landing softly on a shop canopy. The fabric creaked before tearing, depositing Grace roughly onto a table. She stumbled to her feet, reaching out for a lamppost to steady her. Blinking away the shock, she saw Dice lying in a snow bank a few yards away. "Where the hell is it?" she demanded, jogging over to Dice to help him up. Two rough thumps behind her signalled that something _heavy_ had landed, and a loud roar served to tell her it was angry.

"Try behind you, Grace. Work on your powers of observation for the future, will you?" Dice groaned audibly. "As a special favour to me so I don't have to point out the _blatantly obvious_ to you."

"You're complaining right before that Salamence is about to roast us?" Grace was incredulous. The Salamence roared again, stamping its feet on the ground. Small puffs of snow lifted from the floor and the smell of ozone filled the air. Lightning began to crackle around the Salamence's wings, sparks playing across the leathery flaps. Grace continued to stare in shock before taking a few hesitant steps backwards.

"What move is that?"

"Really, who am I? Answerman?" Dice cocked his head to one side and frowned. "Honestly, I have no idea. Could be anything, though it looks…_electrical _in nature." He sighed. "The blatantly obvious, again."

"Could you _please stop insulting me_ before we both die horrible and painful deaths?" Grace yelled at him above the crackling electricity and the roaring Pokémon. "Please?"

Dice grinned at her before being blinded by a sudden flash. Raising his arms to cover his face, he heard the crackling stop and noticed the roaring had stopped too. "_Oooooohh…_my eyes…. MY EYES!" He fumbled around, staggering until he found a wall to lean against. "M'blind! Bliiiiinnnd!"

"Shut up, moron!" Shouting, from behind him. "I can't see anything either."

"We're both blind? That's just _wonderful_." His acidic tone touched a nerve in Grace, who was clinging to a lamppost for support. "Well maybe you should occupy your _genius_ mind that deals with everything _interesting and unusual_ and figure out where that Salamence disappeared to." Her tone also dripped sarcasm.

There was silence for a few moments. "You don't suppose that we might be the ones to have disappeared? And I use disappeared in a more permanent sense here. As in dead." Grace heard him swallow. "Funny thing is, I don't remember any great pain and still feel relatively alive." She practically heard him shrug. "As for the oversized flying lizard…I don't really care where its gone, only that it has gone and is out of our lives for the while."

"I thought you wanted interesting in your life. Isn't this interesting enough, Mr Answerman?"

"It is interesting, just ancillary to the really interesting part." He held up a hand, before noticing exactly how redundant the action was and lowering it again. "Before you ask, the really interesting part deals with _how_ the Salamence disappeared. The only move they can learn to get out of a tight spot is Fly, and that wasn't a Fly attack by any stretch of the imagination."

"So what was it, then? Teleport? Or something else?" Dice yawned audibly. "I'd immediately go with something else. Teleport is difficult to teach to a Salamence. Probably impossible, seeing as they have next to no Psychic ability." He waved a hand in front of his face and detected a fuzzy grey object in the midst of the blackness. "Hey, I don't know about you, but my sight is coming back. Well, for objects six inches in front of my face, at least."

"Yeah, I can see snow. And my shoes. And someone else's shoes." She feebly waved a hand in front of her, nudging someone's shoulder and then their elbow. "Yeah, there's definitely someone."

"Is that so." Dice was completely deadpan. "I'm currently occupied with some strange person repeatedly whacking my shoulder. You wouldn't know who-oh they've stopped now. It's fine." Silence filled the air. "Grace? You still there?"

"Just dying of minor embarrassment. Nothing to worry about."

"If you ever want to work out your unresolved shoulder hating issues you can always talk to me. Shoulder to cry on, y'know." Dice was laughing quietly to himself as he finished his little joke, before receiving a swift hit to his arm. Grace spoke from somewhere near his left ear. "Now that you've been duly pun-ished, care to help me find someone who knows what's going on?"

"I'm afraid nobody knows what's going on." A drawling voice spoke from nearby, accompanied by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps crunching on the snow. "Least of all the Cherrygrove City Police Department. I don't suppose you'd like to accompany me back to the Pokémon Centre so we can question you about what happened here?"

Dice and Grace turned towards the voice and made out a blue uniform and spiky green hair. "Are you an Officer Jenny?" asked Grace, her voice filled with confusion. "We can't quite tell on account of being mostly blind still." The voice laughed. "Yes, I'm the Officer Jenny in charge here. If you'll just follow me?"

"I would follow you. But I'm blind, see, or at the very least subject to temporary visual impairment." Dice coughed in embarrassment. "So would you mind terribly if you gave us some…assistance in returning to the Centre?"

"Assistance how?"

"Assistance like a guide-Growlithe might be a start."

* * *

"So how much of the incident can you describe to me?" Officer Jenny scribbled down a heading in the case file. Dice sipped his coffee and paused. After a moment's though, he spoke. "Pretty much all of it." Reaching out his hand, he took another mouthful of coffee. Several seconds passed. The clock ticked noisily on the wall, the harsh sound echoing off the walls of Jenny's office.

Jenny leaned forward over the desk. "Mr Sycamore. Can you describe the incident?"

"I already told you. Yes. I can describe, accurately too." He smiled benignly. "Would you like me to?"

Jenny turned to Grace. "You're travelling with him?" Grace nodded and raised a weary hand to massage her temples. Jenny twisted her mouth in sympathy. "I'm so sorry." Turning back to Dice, she spoke to him. "Mr Sycamore. Describe the incident. Now."

"Certainly!" Dice took another mouthful from the coffee mug and leaned back in his chair. "We left the waffle house after seeing that first Hyper Beam hit the vendors cart." He sipped the coffee again before continuing. "After that it required some time to recharge, so we considered confronting it. Seeing as it's about the weight and approximate dimensions of a small family car, we figured that our current teams couldn't do much to help."

He sighed before turning to Grace. "So we legged it. Removed ourselves from the vicinity. Broke a land speed record I think..." Dice drifted off.

Officer Jenny paused. "I'm afraid whether you did or not is entirely irrelevant. Could we please stay on topic?"

"Very well." Dice stretched. "After the running part, we were caught by the Salamence, which proceeded to…" Dice trailed off, glancing at Grace for confirmation. "The Salamence proceeded to vanish into thin air."

He swallowed audibly and leaned back in the chair. "And that's that. Funky lightning trailing all over the wings and body and then no more violently indisposed dragons." Officer Jenny looked up. "Lightning? How do you mean?"

"I mean big blue sparks trailing all over the Pokémon's body and wings. Like lightning."

Grace pitched in. "We thought it was some kind of electrical attack at first, but couldn't figure it out when the Salamence just…" The sentence trailed into nothing as Grace slowly shook her head.

Officer Jenny sighed. "Looks like we haven't got much else to discuss here. You two go enjoy what else Cherrygrove has to offer and if you see anything else report it." She flipped her notebook closed and stretched an elastic bad around it. "Have a pleasant day."

* * *

Standing on the steps of the police station in Cherrygrove, Dice buttoned his coat against the now chill weather. The bright sunshine of the morning had since passed, leaving grey and ominous clouds in its wake. "Looks like it's going to snow again."

Grace was behind him pulling on a pair of gloves and wrapping her scarf tighter round her neck. Her brown hair flickered about her face during a gust of wind. "We should probably head back to the centre, or inside somewhere. I don't want to freeze to death today." She laughed humourlessly. "Especially not after surviving that Salamence attack."

"Salamence come from Hoenn, did you know that? And then one shows up in sleepy little Cherrygrove, not exactly the centre for weirdness in the universe." Dice frowned. He promptly stopped frowning and scowled instead at a passing Pidgey that seemed to be questioning his statement. Grace sighed. "Yes, I did know they came from Hoenn, I looked it up in the Pokédex. I also knew that it would be a long way to travel, but it's not necessarily weird. It's just one more displaced Salamence struggling to find its way in the world."

"That disappears after attacking, without due cause or provocation, an urban environment. Besides being so far out of the norm for seventy-five percent of the population of Pokémon, attacking in a city just isn't what dragon-types do."

"You confuse me. It's just a random Pokémon attack, like so many others, and yet you want to see some deeper reason behind it. The Salamence might have been confused or enraged. The lightning effect could be excruciatingly painful for all we know and might cause it to attack. Let's walk while we talk." She took a few tentative steps towards the street below. "Come on. Standing here won't help."

"Maybe not. But the other boot has to drop some time soon."

"Other boot? What does that mean?"

"It means I wanted to fill our uncomfortable silence with something vaguely impressive." Dice sighed. "Forget it. You're right. No answers here."

They walked through the snow covered streets, occasionally stopping to glance in shop windows at trainer gear or useful items, eventually settling down for a late afternoon snack in a small café opposite the city's main park. Several trainers had started an impromptu battle tournament, drawing names from a hat to start the first round. As the battles began, a crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the young trainers compete. "We should probably begin training at some point. If we come up against something that strong again, we're a tad bit stuffed. Besides, there's the gym challenge to think about."

"Good point. Where do you think we should visit first?" Grace flipped her Pokégear open. "The map thing that I installed earlier tells me that…Violet city has a gym." She looked up. "It's also quite nearby, but the weather looks to be getting worse and there isn't anywhere in between to rest if we get caught out in a storm."

Dice sighed. "We might as well stay here for the next few days and see how it turns out. At least we'll get some training done in the meantime and we're not exactly in a ru-"

A booming shudder rocked the floor and caused the table to wobble violently, throwing Dice off his chair and depositing him ingloriously on the floor. Several thoughts ran through his head, including the obligatory _what the hell happened there,_ and the less obligatory and entirely irrelevant _some coffee and perhaps some cake would be nice_, because that was his train of thought prior to the mini quake.

Grace was already on her feet looking equally shocked, but brushed it off quickly enough to run outside and gape at what was presumably an impressive sight. Dice followed suit and stumbled less than gracefully outside where he saw possibly the most bizarre sight of his young life.

Lightning flickered across the park, sparking between lampposts and benches, scorching patches of grass at random. Through the haze and flashes of lighting and ignoring the heady smell of ozone, Dice could see outlines of various Pokémon, some more solid than others, appearing at various points around the grassy common. Slowly, he recognised a Salamence appearing about fifty yards away and grimly wondered if it was the same one as that morning. He turned to Grace to see if she was okay, but she was consulting her Pokédex, apparently unconcerned with the almost supernatural activity that was occurring just across the street.

"GRACE!" Dice yelled at her to attract her attention. "GRACE! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" He didn't know why he shouted that, seeing as he didn't have a clue what he was going to do or why, just that he needed to be doing something _right now_. Besides, Grace wasn't listening anyway, still focussed on the Pokédex, seemingly confused with why it wasn't working. _Why wouldn't it work? The Pokédex is supposed to be one of the most extensively field tested devices in the world, so why does it pack in now?_

Dice started running towards the park, towards the less-than-solid outlines of Pokémon that were still surrounded by the same blue lightning, pulling out Cyndaquil's Pokéball as he did. "Go! Cyndaquil!" The tiny Pokémon burst out of the ball in a shimmering white light, only to start in shock at the sight before it.

Seeing the immediate, and apparently increasing danger, the flames on its back roared instantly as the blue creature scuttled towards Dice. "_QUUUIIIILLLLL!_" Dice immediately knelt next to it, reaching out a hand to pet the frightened Pokémon's head. "Cyndaquil, I need you to be strong now. If any of these Pokémon become…" He searched for a word. "I dunno…real. If they become real, they'll probably be very dangerous. So we need to be not scared, right?" The echidna did not look convinced, and shook its head vigorously. "_Cyn-da!_"

"Yes, we have to at least look brave. From a distance, if nothing else, because if you look like you know what you're doing, nobody can complain later. You wouldn't want us to run away would you?" He was teasing slightly at the end, although he noted that fires had begun on the common where the lightning was striking.

"Look good from a distance. Well, I suppose some people have to make do and mend when it comes to courage." There was a new voice behind him, one that wasn't Grace. It was deep and authoritative, and reeked of arrogance and made Dice feel sick to his stomach.

The not quite Pokémon still scattered the area around him and lightning still played throughout the air and there was a stench that he couldn't describe, but none of them gave him the same nausea as this voice. He turned, and so did Cyndaquil, to meet the its owner. His own dark brown eyes met the grey eyes of a well-dressed man in a grey suit and tie, with neatly combed grey hair.

Dice didn't think he would remember this man if he bumped into him in a crowd, or if he saw him across a crowded train carriage, but in the small space in which they stood, enveloped by all manner of strangeness, he saw that this man, so inappropriately dressed for this situation, was almost designed to have _that face_, the bland, _grey _one you could almost forget whilst you were looking at it.

"Why do you think you're well positioned to comment on my courage? I mean, after all of five seconds of conversation, you can't say you really know me." Dice paused and Cyndaquil began to growl quietly, the flames on its backing flickering with the occasional blue burst. "For example, Cyndaquil appears to disagree with you. He's growling and firing the flames on his back, which I can safely say he's never done before. Ever, which considering our two day acquaintance might not be much but it's a start."

"Touché young sir. Touché. I can't claim to know you, and therefore…" The grey man hesitated, almost savouring his words. "…I apologise for my earlier insult. Forgive me." He withdrew a device from inside his jacket and glanced at him. The mouth made a moue of distaste. "I fear that our time here will be short. The…experiment…we had hoped to conduct appears to be unsatisfactorily concluded."

The man gestured around to the various Pokémon incarnating on the field and Dice saw that the vague outlines were fading, shimmering and dissolving into the haze of the smoke. "Perhaps we will meet again under some more…relaxing circumstances, or over drinks." He laughed mockingly. "That is, if you can purchase alcoholic beverages legally, young si-".

"Perhaps I would just prefer to battle you now. Get all the tension out, clear the air. Find out what your little science project was going to do and why it appears to have destroyed a goodly portion of a very nice park in an otherwise peaceful city." Dice glared at him. "And stop calling me young sir. I don't take well to condescension."

"Perhaps you should learn to respect your elders. And on that note, you are young. The sir was just to make you feel better about it, but if it offends you so…I will cease." The grey man sighed. "As for our battle…well, why not? I was recently gifted with a Pokémon from a…business associate of mine and I wish to see how it fares."

Dice turned to Cyndaquil. "Get in there Cyndaquil. I want answers from this." Above the crackling of flames and despite the smoke blurring his vision, Dice could hear sirens and see the flashing lights of emergency service vehicles. "Hey, you! Sounds like the police made it here just in time to watch."

"And that's all they will be able to do." Withdrawing a Pokéball, the grey man tossed it into the air. "Spoink! It's time!"

* * *

Dice wasted no time in attacking. "Alright Cyndaquil. Let's start it off with an Ember attack!" The grey man grinned, showing genuine emotion for the first time. "Spoink, use Bounce to evade!" The Bounce Pokémon sat up onto its tail and launched itself into the air to evade the stream of fiery embers that struck the ground just moments later. Dice grimaced with frustration. "Keep watching for when it comes down and try to avoid being landed on!"

"_Quil! Cyn-da!_" Cyndaquil tensed the muscles in its hind limbs and glared up into the sky. A few moments later, the smoke parted to reveal an accelerating Spoink. Cyndaquil screeched in fear and tried to dive out of the way, before Spoink slammed its tail into the Fire Mouse's body. The forceful blow tossed Cyndaquil some distance away, rolling across the field until it rose, albeit unsteadily, to its feet. "Hang in there Cyndaquil, and use a Swift attack on that overgrown piglet!"

"Counter with a Psywave attack, Spoink!" The bouncing pig, swaying on its coiled tail fired a multicoloured beam towards the small fire-type, while Cyndaquil reared back and released a barrage of stars towards the Spoink.

The two attacks met in a sparkling explosion that blew away the haze of smoke surrounding the battlefield. Dice took advantage of the clarity to press his attack. "Now Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack!" The Fire Mouse shot forward and slammed its body into Spoink, eliciting a cry of pain from the pig-like Pokémon.

Shouts could be heard coming towards them, causing both battlers to look up. Police officers, led by the Officer Jenny from earlier were running toward them, calling out Growlithe and Pidgeotto to aid in subduing the man. They looked at each other, grey eyes to brown, strange man to boy trainer, experienced and cold to fiery and logical, and a flash of understanding passed between them.

Dice shouted over to him. "We aren't done here. I'm going to find out what you've been doing, even if it kills me."

The grey man just laughed, recalling his Spoink as he did so. "What I've been doing? You lend me too much credit for this endeavour. No, this is the work of a far more ambitious, capricious and altogether delusional mind than mine. This," he gestured grandly around the common. "Make no mistake, this is the work of a true genius. I'm just here to…help. And I'd be careful about that last part. Curiosity killed the Skitty, after all."

He withdrew another Pokéball from the confines of his jacket. "Alakazam! It's time for us to depart!" The psychic type exploded from the ball in a flash of bright white light. "Use teleport!" Blue psychic energy surrounded the Pokémon and his trainer, before they vanished, leaving nothing but doubt and the stench of smoke on the wind.

Dice was loosely aware of Grace calling his name as he picked Cyndaquil up, and vaguely remembered batting away the prying hands of paramedics and emergency doctors. All he cared about was the events of five minutes ago, the battle that hadn't been won or lost and the information he hadn't discovered. It felt like failure.

* * *

Later that night, after police interviews and official statements, agents from government agencies and the League pressing him for questions, after a hot shower and a takeout meal, after seeing to his Pokémon, he bitterly ruminated that yes it was a failure. _At least it was an open-ended failure. The kind that's going to revisit me later._ He looked at Grace. _Maybe even the kind that'll revisit us later. If she lasts._

Taking out his notebook he began to write, using the dim light of his Pokégear to see. _The grey man: Known Pokémon - Spoink, Alakazam (preference for Psychic?). Appeared during incidents at Cherrygrove City…_He left the list unfinished. _Unfinished business. Well, that's certainly correct._

* * *

Deep below the surface of the ocean, near the Whirl Islands, the grey man flashed into existence. He recalled his Alakazam and glanced around the large hangar he had landed in. Several Galactic grunts hurried about, carrying reels of piping and tools to various construction zones. Striding over to a communications terminal, the grey man punched in a code and waited for a response. After receiving one, he spoke.

"Commander Neptune, I'd like to inform you the Cherrygrove test was a partial success. Several Pokémon were transported, but the crystal amplification still needs to be refined. There's also the small matter of a…" He trailed off. _To mention the boy or not. Hmmm…let's see how this plays out._ He coughed before changing his sentence. "There's also the small matter of my salary…" _This should be enlightening._


End file.
